How to Keep Your Remote Work Secure from Any Location

Working remotely has given employees flexibility and work-life balance, but it also presents businesses with unique challenges—for example, security. When your network is spread out over several different locations, like with the at-home office, the threat surface increases. Today, we want to cover three ways you can take the bite out of remote work security and make it more effective for all involved.

At-Home Wi-Fi Is Not Necessarily Secure

Most people don’t think twice about the security of their home Internet, but they absolutely should.

Your wireless network should always be protected with a strong password. If you haven’t changed the name of your network (or its default password), then take some time to do this now, as most default settings are shared online on the manufacturer’s website. Furthermore, you should make sure that your router is using the latest in Wi-Fi security protocol (if you don’t know what this means or aren’t sure what to do, give us a call at (403) 210-2927)

When in doubt, just use the next solution on this list: the VPN.

Virtual Private Networks

A virtual private network, or VPN, allows your business to conduct secure business even on unsecured wireless networks.

Think of it like a secure, encrypted tunnel, connecting your business’ infrastructure to your employees’ devices. Even if a hacker were to watch the network and try to steal data traveling along it, they wouldn’t be able to due to the encryption. A good VPN means you can conduct business securely from anywhere, even on sketchy wireless networks like airports, coffee shops, or other public places.

Not all VPN services are equal, though, so be sure to pick a business-grade one and not one of those consumer-grade solutions.

Device Management and Security

A lot of devices get used throughout the course of the day, including smartphones, laptops, and desktops—all of which need to be secured.

There’s a lot that goes into this, but we’ll do our best to distill it down to a couple of main points. Be sure to keep all software on these devices, including the operating systems, up to date, and ensure they are protected by antivirus and anti-malware software. Ensure that all devices have passwords of some sort implemented, as well as multi-factor authentication.

Finally, ensure that you’re tracking the devices accessing your infrastructure like a hawk.

Don’t let the good aspects of remote work blind you to the bad. Take charge of your remote workforce’s security today by calling us at (403) 210-2927 to learn more.